In Brief
The Supreme Court set aside the National Green Tribunal's dismissal of a petition challenging site clearance for a proposed Silchar airport in Assam. Despite the absence of required Environmental Clearance under the 2006 EIA Notification, authorities had uprooted approximately 42 lakh tea bushes and felled 89 shade trees using heavy machinery in May 2022. The Court held that airport construction requires prior Environmental Clearance as it falls under Schedule Entry 7, and such extensive site preparation constitutes prohibited 'preparation of land'. The NGT was criticized for abdicating its duty to verify the grievance's authenticity. The Court directed that no further activity breach the Notification and that future Environmental Clearance processing must use the site's pre-clearance condition as baseline.
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